


Secrets in the Fog

by socksock



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Betrayal!, F/M, Light Flirting, Master Sword (Legend of Zelda), New Guard!Link, Pre-Calamity (Legend of Zelda)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26686294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socksock/pseuds/socksock
Summary: After an attack, Zelda takes shelter in the Lost Woods, protected by Impa and her newest guard, who has been on edge since they entered the fog.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 280





	Secrets in the Fog

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a conversation with jenseits-der-sterne, who also betaed.

Zelda's heart hadn't slowed from their desperate escape. She still breathed in gasps and gulps, even as the horde of monsters had fallen away behind them and the sounds of the battle at the training grounds had faded, even as their pace had slowed as a new kind of trepidation sunk in.

She couldn't believe the monsters would be so brazen as to attack the training grounds!

She rubbed her arm, certain she'd have a bruise in the shape of Impa's hand as the Sheikah had dragged her away, leaving all but one of her escort of royal guards to hold off the monsters and cover their escape. 

The sight of a spear piercing through Lt. Betz as she looked back over her shoulder danced before her eyes, and her nausea rose once again. She couldn't believe they'd just left them!

In front of her, Lt. Link paused at a low, broken wall and an arched gate framed by torches. Ten paces ago, it was full daylight, but now it was as if they'd stepped into perpetual night. Impa stepped forward to inspect a stone marker, and Zelda took hurried steps to keep up with her, worried she would lose the Sheikah in the fog.

She knew the tales as well as anyone—tales of spirit children leading you astray with their laughter, tales of clicking, wooden marionettes without a master who would surround you. And she knew what was fabled to lie at the center of the woods: the sword that seals the darkness and could seal Zelda's fate as the one to stand against Calamity Ganon. The sword that determined if her lack of magical ability was an apocalyptic catastrophe or simple gossip fodder. The sword that determined if she could live a life following her own simple interests or would live a life of preparation for war.

She didn't want to see the sword. She never wanted to see the sword.

"Let the flames guide the way?" Impa said. She frowned at the stone, then looked up at the torches. Clearly they marked an entrance into the cursed woods.

Impa came to a quick decision. "If we can navigate the woods, we'll be safe." She set her shoulders and took a step.

The Lieutenant grabbed her arm, pulling her to a sudden stop. Clearly, his hand only stayed attached to his body because Impa respected him (which was rare for her). When the Sheikah looked to him in question instead of anger, Zelda reassessed. They might be friends. 

Indeed, the Lieutenant's meteoric rise in the ranks, and his skill and flare with a blade had certainly gained him attention. But Impa had also mentioned that he was humble and calm in a crisis. The Sheikah all appreciated the guard members who had a level of subtlety. 

Truly, he did not speak much (or at all? Had she heard him?) but that didn't stop him from dropping hints at a sense of humor. People spoke of him, of course (in a way they never spoke of Zelda, in a way that made her not want to hear more). This was the first time he’d been assigned to one of her security details, but she'd seen him around the castle. A few times they’d made eye contact as if sharing a secret joke. But what the joke was she didn’t know. It could be something horrible! 

A few weeks ago, she’d rushed from the library, her arms full of tomes on ancient Sheikah technology, when she’d been admonished by one of the high ministers for running, then interrogated about what books she had there. She'd lied and said they were hymnals (they were in ancient Sheikah, so the minister couldn't know for certain). When she'd turned hurriedly away, she'd slammed into the Lieutenant, who was standing motionless in his assigned place in the hallway. She'd dropped several books, and they'd both scrambled to gather them before the minister could sigh so hard he expired.

The next morning, a book she'd apparently missed was in front of her door. At first, she'd had no clue what it was, because it was wrapped in the dust jacket of a Hymnal to Hylia.

Last night (only last night!) one of the generals had chatted her up over dinner, demanding her attention in a way that was a bit much, not that she would mention it. She'd taken a delicate bite of a slice of pear, a specialty of the region, and the general had gone into a rage over a bruise on her fruit. He’d insisted that they were not good enough for the princess. They must be removed and another dish brought in. She'd protested, of course, because they were quite good, and she was hungry, and she didn't want her presence to cause a fuss. But, to her disappointment, her pears were taken away. 

She had no idea why, but from across the room, she’d locked eyes with the Lieutenant. Who stared at her with mischief in his eye, even if his face remained impassive. Then he’d raised his own pear to his mouth and took an enormous bite, so loud she could hear the crisp crunch of it from across the room. His mouth had been so full, she might have only imagined his smile.

This morning (only this morning!) she'd opened the door to her room to find only the Lieutenant at his station before her room. He’d stood at his post, except for the fact that he was eating a pear. He looked her straight in the eye as he took a noisy bite. He was supposed to be at attention. How had he even gotten a pear? How, out of all her guard, had he been assigned to stand there at the very moment she emerged? It had been so infuriating that she’d marched up to him, pulled the pear from his hand, and glared at him as she took her own bite. Toe to toe with him, she had not imagine his smile.

Now there was no mistaking his seriousness. The soldier who'd so brazenly flirted with her was gone. He looked into the woods, then back the way they came. Then he sheathed his sword, shifted into parade rest, and gave Impa a look.

Impa argued, "We need a place to shelter until reinforcements arrive at the training camp. We're not safe here."

He lifted his eyebrows slightly.  _ And we're safe in there? _

Impa's eyes narrowed, her lips thinning. 

Both the Sheikah and the Lieutenant turned to Zelda at the same time. Clearly, she would be the deciding vote.

She looked past them, into the fog. Through the arch, she could see another torch.

"Follow the flames, you said." She tilted her head as the thought caught. She didn’t want to see the sword. And yet something pulled her. Maybe curiosity. Maybe fear of what lay behind them.

She took a step forward as if drawn to the torch. Then another step, and she was through the arch. Impa and the Lieutenant fell into step beside her, thankfully close. Impa had a knife in each hand. The Lieutenant had not drawn his sword. 

They reached the torch without incident, but the quiet was oppressive. She looked back over her shoulder towards the entrance. "I can still see the torches at the entrance. That means we can retrace our steps if we feel we must." She knew that she was filling the silence with her own voice, but she couldn't help it. She looked around, and there, in a different direction, was another torch. 

Again, she stepped forward. And again she reached the next torch without incident. With the fire lighting their faces, she offered the Lieutenant a smile—hopeful and frightened. He turned away quickly. He still looked on edge, but he'd yet to draw his sword. Curious.

They followed the flames to the next torch and the next. It was all surprisingly simple. 

Until the trail of torches ran out.

She looked about, bouncing on her toes, squinting into the dimness. "Do—Do either of you see the next one?"

"No, Your Highness."

In a sudden panic, she spun back to the last torch and was relieved to still see it in the distance.

She turned to the Lieutenant, whose eyes were on his feet. Yes, yes, he didn't want them to go in here. Fine.

In distress, she began to talk to herself. "Perhaps there's a pattern to it. We first turned...right and then left and then...no..."

She squinted into the mist. She could almost see...shadows? She could almost hear...something. Something calling? Perhaps the spirits leading her to her doom.

She blinked and shook her head. Follow the flames. The flames said this direction, so...perhaps the trick of the forest was to follow even when she doubted. "A leap of faith," she said. She checked the location of the last torch over her shoulder, lined herself up, and lifted her chin. 

She took a step into the mist.

The Lieutenant grabbed her arm, and she whipped around to meet his eyes. Eyes that had hardened. He swallowed then bowed his head and steered her in a different direction. 

"What—"

He kept her moving, hand on her arm, eyes straight ahead, looking so absolutely certain and yet so despondent that all her protests shriveled. The fog danced around her ankles but did not swallow her whole. After a few minutes, he abruptly changed direction.

"Have you...been here before?"

He nodded.

She swallowed, wholly unaware of what to make of this, what to make of any of this. Sudden hordes of fearless monsters. Signs of Calamity Ganon's resurrection hemming her in. Impa's move to retreat rather than fight. The Lieutenant's stiff behavior since they entered the forest. His warm hand against her arm.

He was holding the arm that Impa didn't bruise in their escape. She wondered if that was coincidence, because that was a much more pleasant thought experiment than anything else she had to think about.

The fog cleared. The sun came out. And suddenly cheerfulness had returned to the woods. The horrors of the afternoon were lifted so swiftly that it left her light-headed and giddy.

The Lieutenant's hand dropped from her arm.

"We made it," Impa said in awe.

Zelda beamed at her, then at the Lieutenant. "Thank you for guiding us. You have talents hitherto unknown."

He cringed and refused to meet her eyes.

She took a step closer. In a voice as close as she would come to a tease, she said, "Perhaps you should be promoted once we return."

He looked up at her then, his eyes pleading.

Pleading for what? He was so strange.

"Come," Impa said. "We need water."

He cleared his throat, and they paused.

"What?” Impa asked. “Is there danger here?"

He licked his lips. Then shook his head. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, before adjusting his bracers in what must be a nervous tick. He was no longer in parade rest.

Dread returned to her.

Not taking her eyes from him, she said slowly to Impa, "Perhaps we could stay here?"

"We could," Impa said. "Or we could rest in a beautiful glade where there's sure to be water and probably mushrooms and acorns which could be cooked."

Zelda hesitated. She didn't know the Lieutenant well, but something was under his skin. "Perhaps you could collect those, and we could remain here."

Impa gave her an unimpressed look, but bowed and slipped into the glade.

Zelda sat on a nearby stump, sighing as she massaged her calf. The Lieutenant pointedly averted his gaze. Perhaps she should request he join her security detail on a permanent basis.

Several members of her security detail had died this afternoon, and would  _ need _ to be replaced. Bile rose in her throat.

"When were you here before?" she asked, realizing too late that he might not answer.

It came as a surprise when he said, "Five years ago."

His voice was soft. Warm. She pretended she wasn't surprised as she asked, "What were you doing here?"

"Looking for trouble."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

He said nothing more. Maybe she'd over-estimated his charm.

"Did you find it?" she asked.

It was only as a deep breath rolled through his entire body that she realized what a dreadful question that might be. 

"I found disaster."

"Your Highness!"

Zelda spun as the Lieutenant stiffened. Impa nearly threw herself to one knee at Zelda's feet, panting hard, her eyes so wide they were visible even with her head bowed. "You Highness, come quickly."

"What is it?" She was on her feet and running after Impa, through the glade, past a massive tree blushing with cherry blossoms despite the season. How could something terrible have happened here?

But she knew. She knew before she saw it. The only thing here was the sword.

And the sword was gone.

She stood before the empty plinth, dizzy and numb. Her mouth was slack as she raised her eyes to Impa, who looked just as panicked as Zelda felt.

The sword was gone. Had someone pulled it? Was the hero among them? Had some evil destroyed it? Were they doomed before they'd even begun?

She spun to face the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit she had heard of in song and lore. So much adrenaline charged through her that she wasn't shocked to see his ancient face.

"Where is it?" she shouted. "The sword that seals the darkness! It's our only hope!"

The great face moved. With a voice deep as thunder it spoke, "Perhaps, princess, you should ask the sword's chosen master."

She was about to demand to know what he meant by that when footsteps sounded behind her on the stone. 

The Lieutenant looked sickly pale, his jaw set in a painful grimace. She opened her mouth to ask if the sword was here when he came the last time, but he dropped to one knee before her, drawing his sword as he did. He held it up, presenting it to her on outstretched palms, his head bowed and his hands shaking.

She stared at him. Was he offering himself in place of the hero who was missing? How presumptive! They hadn’t even looked yet.

When he realized that she didn’t understand, his hands shook harder, and he fumbled his hold on his sword, freeing one hand to tug at the knots of leather surrounding the hilt. They were stiff with time and use, darkened with sweat, falling away to reveal a shining blue.

Impa gasped.

The leather fell to the ground, and he presented the sword again, it’s winged hilt one she’d seen on tapestries and ancient texts.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe until he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She snapped. Fear and anger and panic and loathing ripping through her words. “Have you been carrying it for  _ five years _ ?!”

He nodded.

“And you didn’t tell anyone?! The surest sign of Calamity Ganon’s resurrection, and you didn’t warn us! We could have been preparing! We could have—I need to—I’ll have to—”

Oh Goddess. Ganon was coming. 

She would have to stop it. And she was unprepared. 

He had been preparing for years.

She twisted and emptied her stomach into the grass. The only thing she’d eaten that morning was a pear.


End file.
